


Saltwater - Joshler

by ashtheflash2000



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternative Universe - Merman, Bisexual Josh Dun, Bisexual Tyler Joseph, Everyone Is Gay, Gay, Gay For You, Gay Josh, Gay Josh Dun, Gay Love, Gay Male Character, Gay Tyler Joseph, Human Tyler Joseph, M/M, joshler - Freeform, merman au, merman josh dun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 13:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10104134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashtheflash2000/pseuds/ashtheflash2000
Summary: Josh has a secret.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This probably could have been better buuut i hope you guys like this anyway lol.  
> also don't mind the random pun i put in there djdjoxk

Josh didn't like saltwater. Tyler knew this. That's why when Tyler told him they'd be going to the beach on one of their free days in tour, Tyler wasn't surprised by his complaints.  
What he didn't understand was why Josh despised saltwater so much. He is completely fine with any other water. Once he refused to swim in a pool just because it had saltwater instead of chlorine, and it confuses the heck out of Tyler. He's asked him about it several times, but no matter what he won't tell the truth. 

Tyler went to Josh's room on the tour bus and knocked on the door.  
"Hey, Josh? Won't you come with us to the beach? I promise you don't have to get in the water, you can stay on the sand."  
He heard Josh's sigh followed by mumbling from inside.  
"You swear? Tyler, if your planning on tricking me into the water I will kill you."  
"Dude, I swear, alright? Please come, it won't be near as fun without you!"  
Moment passed before the door opened to reveal Josh.  
"Fine."  
"Yes!" Tyler held up his hand and Josh couldn't help but give a small smile as he gave him a high-five. 

Josh sat on the sand, warm against his skin, far from the water of the ocean. The sun shone brightly down on Josh's face and the ocean before him, the water sparkling back up to it. The calls from seagulls with the ocean waves crashing onto land sounded peaceful and could had lulled Josh to sleep.  
Josh saw Tyler, Mark, and Ben in the water, splashing each other with wide grins across their faces. He wished he could be in the water with them, like a normal person. But Josh wasn't a normal person. He would never be.  
"Hey Josh, are you sure you don't want to get in?" Ben called, pulling Josh out of his thoughts.  
"I'm good! The sand is fine," He called back. It really was fine, honestly. It didn't bother him as much as it used to.  
Ben hesitated before responding, "Well, alright man."  
Josh sighed and let his thoughts continue, drawing whatever came to mind in the sand.  
Later, Tyler came out of the water and plopped down next to Josh.  
"Woah, your wet...," Luckily Tyler's wet skin hadn't touched Josh's.  
"Dude, it's just water. What's up with you and the ocean?"  
"I-I can't...,"  
"Why not? Josh, you can talk to me about anything, you know that. I'm here for you," It hurt Josh to look into Tyler's confused eyes. He wished he could tell Tyler. He really did, but if he knew, Tyler would leave him. Just like his family and everyone close to him had in the past, calling him a monster on their way out. It pained Josh just to think about it.  
"You wouldn't understand," He mumbled back.  
"Let me understand, then! Is it a fear? There's no sharks this close to shore, and I'm pretty sure there's no jellyfish."  
"Would you just leave me alone!? I said I was fine, Tyler," He snapped. Frick. That's not what he wanted to do.  
Josh looked up at Tyler and saw his hurt expression, and it broke his heart.  
"Tyler, I-I'm sorry-"  
"No, it's fine. I shouldn't have pushed you," Before Josh could say anything, Tyler got up and went back into the ocean with Mark and Ben.  
Josh noticed that Tyler's smile wasn't as genuine as it had been earlier, and it crushed him. It was all his fault. He couldn't even let his best friend have a good time.  
Josh wished he hadn't came at all. He could be practicing his drums or exploring the city, but instead he let Tyler drag him here. The beach was the last place he wanted to be. 

"Hey, do you guys wanna play a prank of Josh? He's napping in the sand, all we need is a bucket aaaaand....," Mark looked at Tyler and Ben expectingly.  
"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea. I promised Josh he wouldn't have to touch any water-"  
"Oh, c'mon Tyler, what's the worst that could happen? If anything, we could get him over his fear," Mark interrupted him.  
"I just, I think we should respect-"  
"Tyler, it'll be fun. You're worrying too much," He was interrupted again.  
"Yea, it's just a prank. It'll be fun," Great. Now Ben was taking Mark's side.  
Tyler hesitated. "Fine. You guys can go ahead, but I'm not taking any part of it."  
"If you say so," Ben shrugged and they both went to the bus to get a bucket.  
Tyler had a very bad feeling eating at his stomach, but he ignored it. What was the worst that could happen, right?  
He sat down in the shallows with his eyes closed, facing the horizon and listening to the sounds of the ocean. It was calming. He opened his eyes to see a couple of dolphins jumping up and down far out on the water, making him smile.  
Tyler turned to look back when he heard the sound of water being dumbed and Josh's gasp.  
"Shit," He heard him say, and before he knew what was going on Josh had rocketed out of his spot and ran for life to the water, passing Tyler on the way. When he was deep enough, he dived under.  
"What the heck...," Tyler turned to Mark and Ben with wide eyes, "Did you do...."  
"Well, I mean... We got him over his... fear...," Ben spoke, clearly just as surprised as him. 

Josh was trying desperately to swim away from shore while his flesh, bone, and muscle began to painfully mash together and expand. He couldn't tell if he was crying or if it was just the water around him.  
The pain only grew greater but he thrashed with all his might. His friends couldn't see him like this.  
Slits in his neck began tearing open. Gills. At least he could now breath while getting away.  
When Josh knew he was far enough away, his breathing began slowing down and the pain started to subside.  
Josh looked down to see a long shimmery tail and a huge fin, matching the color of his dyed hair. It sent shivers down his spine. He hasn't seen this in a long time.  
'I'm a monster,' He thought to himself, putting his head in his hands. 'A monster. A freak of nature. If anyone knew, They'd run for the hills. They wouldn't even be able to look at you anymore.'  
He was pretty sure he was crying, but it was still hard to tell.  
How would Josh get back? Once he did, he'd be fired with billions of questions that he couldn't answer without telling the truth.  
'I could just never go back,' The thought frightened Josh. Without Tyler, Mark, and Ben, Josh was nothing, just a waste of space. They didn't need him as much as he needed them.  
With nothing else to do, he started slowly swimming. His tail muscles were stiff from years of not using them.  
Soon, he saw a school of fish swim past him, their scales glittering from the sun. Josh smiled to himself.  
Next he saw tons of vegetation and sea animals everywhere he turned. All the animals were clearly not afraid of the half-man half-fish. The sun shined down on it all, bringing everything to life. It was breathtaking- or, should I say, watertaking.  
Josh couldn't believe it's been since he was a boy since he's seen all this. He realized just how much he missed it. Everything was so welcoming and harmonious. It was almost like he belonged here.  
He heard a chirping sound and turned his head to see two dolphins swimming excitedly toward him, not hesitant nor afraid, like they knew him.  
Josh chuckled as one swam past him, letting him stroke its side.  
"Hey there, fella," Both dolphins chirped in response.  
The second dolphin poked him i the shoulder, asking him to play.  
Josh smiled and started swimming with both of them beside him. He started out slowly and gradually got faster, warming up his tail.  
Soon, he was swimming and playing and dancing around with both of the dolphins. It was incredible, the experience of a lifetime. He saw all sorts of gleaming fish and plants and even rocks. It swept all of Josh's worries away, and he hoped it never ended.


	2. Chapter 2

They had searched everywhere along the beach and ocean, and there was no sign of Josh. They couldn't call him because he had left his phone on the bus, and tears were threatening to fall from Tyler's eyes.   
'God, I'm such a baby,' He thought to himself, rubbing the tears away.   
"D-do you think he'll come back?" Tyler whispered to Mark, who was sitting right next to him in the bus.  
Mark hesitated.  
"I-I'm sure he will, Tyler. Why would he leave? I mean, just because of a little prank...?"   
The tears were coming back.   
"I'm sorry Tyler... It's all my fault. Me and Ben should have listened to you."  
"N-no, it's not. I should have made more of an effort to stop you. I knew you guys just wanted to have a little fun..," His voice trailed off.   
Mark rubbed his back for support, but it wasn't the same as when Josh did it. Only he could truly calm Tyler down.  
Mark stood up, "I'm going off to bed, and I think you should get ready also. We can continue searching tomorrow and reschedule the concert if we have too, alright?"  
All Tyler could do is nod his head, his mind far away.   
'It's all my fault,' He repeated to himself. 'You could have prevented this'  
'Josh may be hurt now, because of me.' 

That night, Tyler couldn't sleep. He twisted and turned, but he couldn't get his mind off of the events that happened today. Why did Josh all of a sudden jump into the ocean? Tyler thought he didn't like saltwater...   
He grabbed out for his phone. It was 3:34. Tyler signed and put his phone on his stomach, thinking.   
The next thing he knew, he was up out of the warmth of his bed, grabbing a coat, and headed towards the beach.   
Tyler searched for an hour and there still was no sign of Josh. He was now laying on the sand, which was cool against the exposed parts of his skin. He looked up to the moon, which was almost full. It shone brightly, lighting up the night sky.   
He signed as he got up, deciding he should look around one last time before going back to the bus. He hung onto what little hope he had left in him, and forced his tired legs to trudge on.   
After a few moments of walking, Tyler saw something in the distance. He felt a fluttering in his chest.   
As he got a little closer to the figure, he saw it was someone, the waves gently crashing against their body.  
Then Tyler gasped.   
"T-this isn't real," He whispered so quietly he almost couldn't hear himself. 

"J-Josh...?" Josh slowly woke up to the sound of a shaking voice. It was familiar. He felt a cool, grainy surface below him, and water by his sides.   
"Josh... Is that you, man?"   
This time, he slowly opened his eyes. He wish he hadn't. He was greeted by distressed and fretful eyes.   
"Tyler?" He was surprised by his croaky voice.   
Josh tried to sit up, but ended up flopping back down, his head hitting the sand harder than he'd like.   
He propped his arms behind him and looked at his le- no, tail.   
His eyes widened.   
No no no no no, this couldn't be happening.   
He looked back at Tyler, his breathing becoming faster.  
"T-Tyler, you shouldn't b-be seeing me like this, oh my god," He could feel his arms starting to shake more and more.   
"Josh..."  
"You don't have to tell me. Your leaving. You think I'm a monster, right? And I'll be all alone again...," His voice went to a whisper.   
"N-no! Josh, not at all! Listen, I'm so sorry. If i had known about...," He took a breath before continuing, "About this, I would have never pestered you about getting into salt water. I would have understood... Why didn't you ever tell me?"  
Tyler looked like he was on the edge of tears, which broke Josh's heart.   
"I-I thought you would have hated me... I thought you'd think i was a monster, like everyone else who has ever known," Josh was about to cry, himself.   
"Josh, listen to me, you are not a monster, not even close. If anything, this is like a... a superpower! It's pretty sick," Now Tyler had a small smile on his face, and a tear rolling down his cheek.  
Josh looked into his eyes from where he laid on the sand, looking up into his friends eyes. They were beautiful. That's when he realized something he never had before.  
"T-Tyler? Will you kiss me?" Josh would have just kissed Tyler himself, but that wasn't an option when he had a tail weighing him onto the ground.   
He held as breath while seeing Tyler's eyes widen.   
"Crap, no, I'm sorry Tyler, I-" He was interrupted by Tyler's lips on his. And it was spectacular. Tyler's lips were soft and moved perfectly with Josh's.   
When Tyler pulled away, they looked into each other's wide, sparkling eyes.   
"I think I'm in love with you," Josh said quietly, afraid of ruining the peaceful and comfortable silence.   
"I think I'm in love with you too, Josh," Tyler smiled, and Josh could see him blushing.   
Josh had a huge grin plastered on his face.   
He hesitated before breaking the silence again.  
"Can you pull me out of the water?"   
"Oh, yea, of coarse," Tyler got up and tried pulling of Josh's arms, but he was too heavy too move.   
"Uh, I guess I'll have to pick you up...," Josh nodded his head, giving him permission.   
Tyler dug his hands under him, and Josh reached up to hold tightly around his neck.   
When they got far enough away, Tyler sat down with Josh in his lap, and Josh's arms still around his neck. The added weight of his tail made it too difficult to carry him for long.   
"What are you going to tell Ben and Mark?" Josh asked warily.   
"I guess that's up to you. Do you want to tell them?"  
Josh thought about it for a moment. "Uh, not really... Can it just be between us?"  
"Of coarse. We'll come up with an excuse for what happened...," Josh was relieved.   
"Thank you, Tyler. For like, not hating me and and stuff..," He muttered.   
"I could never hate you, Josh, not in a million years." He looked up into Tyler's eyes and knew he was telling the truth.  
Josh finally felt at home.


End file.
